The Concept of Earthing: Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) in Industrial Plant Design
HELUKABEL
This white paper from HELUKABEL addresses how inadequate earthing concepts in modern industrial plants can cause persistent data transmission errors, machine outages, and communication faults. As production facilities become more compact and robots operate at higher speeds with greater data demands, electromagnetic interference increases significantly. Industrial Ethernet now operates at frequencies from 1 MHz to 600 MHz and beyond, making plants far more susceptible to interference than older bus-based systems. The paper explains that many plant failures attributed to cable performance are actually caused by poor EMC practices. It presents a practical earthing concept using copper earthing straps, tinned stranded conductors (class 2 or 5) placed inside cable ducts to absorb electromagnetic radiation, EMC glands for improved shield-to-housing conductivity, and proper potential equalization across all conducting plant sections. The solution allows plant operators to upgrade existing cable ducts simply and effectively.